Gutter support brackets



July 18, 1967 A. R. DAVIDSON 3,331,574

- I GUTTER SUPPORT BRACKETS Filed July 5, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet l E w F I 14 if 3 I! v -iL Q 5 9 x7 4? 12 09m A) stair Davwlsan 2 M y 8, 1967 A. R. DAVIDSON GUTTER SUPPORT BRACKETS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 5, 1966 FIG.3

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July 1 1967 A. R. DAVIDSON GUTTER SUPPORT BRACKETS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 5, 1966 FIG] JWK/ZZ'U Ajasi'air RDavza san United States Patent 3,331,574 GUTTER SUPPORT BRACKETS Alastair Ritchie Davidson, Wallingham, England, assignor The present invention relates to gutter support brackets for supporting lengths of guttering.

In one of its aspects, the invention is directed to providing an arrangement for fixing a gutter support bracket to a building, and in accordance with this aspect of the invention, a gutter support bracket is in two separable parts, namely a gutter support cradle and a wall block securable to a building and interfitting with the cradle. Thus the cradle may be provided with a post having a channel in it for receiving the wall block, the channel terminating in a pocket in which a nose on the wall block is trapped. The wall block may be provided with two screw holes, one of which enables the wall block to be secured to a building separately from the cradle and the other of which aligns with a screw hole in the cradle to allow common fixing of the cradle and wall block to a building and simultaneously locking of the cradle and wall block together.

In a second aspect, the invention is directed to providing a gutter support bracket capable of forming a watertight joint between the adjacent ends of two lengths of guttering. According to this second aspect of the invention, the gutter support bracket comprises a cradle having a trough adapted to receive the adjacent ends of two lengths of guttering, and a detachable liner which is of synthetic plastics material and which is stressed to interlock with the trough to clamp the gutter lengths in the trough against sealing means provided in the trough. Thus flange pieces may be provided along the upper edges of the trough under which the edges of the liner engage to clamp the gutter lengths to the sealing means. The liner may have lugs which rest on the upper edges of the trough on either side of the flange pieces and these lugs may be provided with small lips at their outer extremities, which snap over the upper edges of the trough.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, two examples of gutter support bracket in accordance with the invention will now be described by Way of example with reference to the eight figures of the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 shows the first example of gutter support bracket in exploded cross-section,

FIGURE 2 shows a plan view of the liner of this bracket,

FIGURE 3 shows a plan view of the gutter supporting cradle of this bracket,

FIGURE 4 shows a rear elevation of the gutter supporting cradle,

FIGURE 5 shows a rear elevation of a wall block forming part of the bracket, and

FIGURES 6 to 8 shows a cross-section, plan view and a rear elevation respectively of a gutter supporting cradle of the second example of bracket.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 to 5 of the drawing, the first example of gutter support bracket is of the kind for effecting a watertight joint between the adjacent ends of two lengths of guttering. The gutter support bracket is in three separable parts, namely the gutter supporting cradle 1, the liner 2 and the wall block 3, all of which are made from synthetic plastics material.

The gutter supporting cradle 1 has a trough 4 for ice receiving from opposite directions the adjacent ends of two correspondingly troughed lengths of guttering. The cradle 1 also has a vertical post 5 formed integrally with the trough 4, the post 5 meeting the trough 4 tangentially adjacent the upper edge of the latter and rigidity between the trough 4 and post 5 being provided by web 6. The post 5 is formed with a channel 7 of rectangular cross-section and whose mouth is directed rearwardly of the cradle 1 to receive the wall block 3. The lower end of the channel 7 is open and at its upper end the channel 7 terminates in a pocket 8 whose shape corresponds to nose 9 on the wall block 3.

The wall block 3 is provided with two screw holes 10 and 12, the upper one, 10, being recessed to take the head of a screw. The post 5 has a screw hole 13 towards its lower end, the screw hole 13 aligning with the screw hole 12 in the Wall block 3 when the latter and the cradle 1 are assembled. Thus in fixing the gutter support bracket to say the eaves board of a building, the wall block 3 is first secured to the eaves board by a screw passing through screw hole 10. The cradle 1 is then fitted on to the wall block by dropping the post 5 over the wall block 3 until the nose 9 is trapped in the pocket 8. A further screw is then passed through the aligned screw holes 13 and 12 in the post 5 and wall block 3 respectively and screwed into the eaves board to lock the cradle 1 to the wall block 3 and to provide further securement of the assembly to the eaves board. This method of fixing is of advantage in securing a number of gutter support brackets to a building, because the wall blocks 3 can be accurately sited to ensure that guttering will have the correct fall and the cradles 1 can then be simply fitted to the Wall blocks 3.

The trough 4 of the cradle 1 has transverse grooves 14 adjacent either end (see FIGURE 3) in which are received rubber sealing strips 14a of circular cross-section which stand proud of the surface of the trough 4 so that each sealing strip engages the undersurface of a respective one of the lengths of guttering received in the trough 4. An upstanding projection 15 is provided in the bottom of the trough 4 to avoid contact between the ends of the sections when fitting and thus prevent one section over-riding the other when the joint expands.

To clamp the gutter lengths in the trough 4 and so provide a watertight joint, the liner 2 is provided and this is sufiiciently resilient to be a snap fit on the cradle 1, Along the upper edges of the trough 4 are provided inwardly extending flange pieces 16 under which the longitudinal edges of the liner 2 engage, to press the lengths of guttering into sealing engagement with the sealing strips. The liner 2 at the ends of its upper longitudinal edges is provided with outwardly extending lugs 17, which rest on the upper edges of the trough 4 on either side of the flange pieces 16. The lugs 17 each have a downwardly extending lip 18 at their outer extremity which snaps over the upper edge of the trough 4 to engage the outside of the trough 4. The liner 2 also has a rib 19 extending around its outer surface, the rib 19 being interrupted at its mid-length to receive the pip 15.

In assembling the lengths of gutter in the support bracket, the lengths of gutter are laid in the trough 4 and the liner 2 is then pressed downwardly into the trough 4 until its upper edges engage under the flange pieces 16. This will put the liner 2 under a certain degree of stress to provide a clamping pressure. The lugs 17 are then displaced outwardly by finger pressure exerted on the inside of the liner until the lips 1'8 snap over the upper edge of the trough 4. Thus the liner is prevented from longitudinal movement in the trough because of the location of the lugs 17 on either side of the flange pieces 16, is prevented from lifting out of the trough by engagement under the flange pieces 16 and is prevented from flexing inwardly by the 3 engagement of the lips 18 with the outside of the trough. Referring now to FIGURES 6 to 8 this shows the cradle 20 of a simple gutter support bracket. The cradle 20 has a trough 22in which the gutter rests and an integral post 23 having a channel 7 with pocket 8 at its upper end for receiving a wall block 3 in the manner described with reference to FIGURES 1 to 5 in order to secure the cradle 215 to a wall.

What I claim is:

1. A gutter support bracket comprising an open-ended trough shaped cradle for receiving the adjacent ends of two lengths of guttering, resilient sealing strips located in transverse grooves on the inner surface of the cradle for sealingly engaging the undersides of said adjacent ends of said two lengths of guttering, two flange pieces extending towards each other from the respective upper edges of said cradle and located in the region of the mid-length of said upper edges, a resilient and detachable trough shaped liner of synthetic plastic material each of whose upper edges engages under a respective one of said flange pieces to stress said liner and so clamp said lengths of guttering in said trough against said sealing strips, two lugs on each upper edge of said liner and located towards respective ends thereof and extending so that they rest on one upper edge of said cradle on either side of said flange piece thereon, and lips at the outer extremities of said lugs and which are a snap fit over the upper edges of said cradle.

2. A gutter support bracket as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cradle is secured to a supporting wall through a wall block which is separably located in a vertically extending channel on the outside of the cradle and whose upper end terminates in a pocket in which a nose on the wall block is trapped.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,709,144 4/ 1929 Mueller 248224 1,781,085 11/1930 Skinner 24848.1 1,857,050 5/1932 Jones 248-224 2,292,959 8/1942 Monson 248224 2,448,750 9/1948 Van Wert 248-482 3,253,415 5/1966 Davidson 61-15 JOHN PETO, Primary Examiner. CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Examiner. 

1. A GUTTER SUPPORT BRACKET COMPRISING AN OPEN-ENDED TROUGH SHAPED CRADLE FOR RECEIVING THE ADJACENT ENDS OF TWO LENGTHS OF GUTTERING, RESILIENT SEALING STRIPS LOCATED IN TRANSVERSE GROOVES ON THE INNER SURFACE OF THE CRADLE FOR SEALINGLY ENGAGING THE UNDERSIDES OF SAID ADJACENT ENDS OF SAID TWO LENGTHS OF GUTTERING, TWO FLANGE PIECES EXTENDING TOWARDS EACH OTHER FROM THE RESPECTIVE UPPER EDGES OF SAID CRADLE AND LOCATED IN THE REGION OF THE MID-LENGTH OF SAID UPPER EDGES, A RESILIENT AND DETACHABLE TROUGH SHAPED LINER OF SYNTHETIC PLASTIC MATERIALEACH OF WHOSE UPPER EDGES ENGAGES UNDER A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID FLANGE PIECES TO STRESS SAID LINER AND SO CLAMP SAID LENGTHS OF GUTTERING IN SAID TROUGH AGAINST SAID SEALING STRIPS, TWO LUGS ON EACH UPPER EDGE OF SAID LINER AND LOCATED TOWARDS RESPECTIVE ENDS THEREOF AND EXTENDING SO THAT THEY REST ON ONE UPPER EDGE OF SAID CRADLE ON EITHER SIDE OF SAID FLANGE PIECE THEREON, AND LIPS AT THE OUTER EXTREMITIES OF SAID LUGS AND WHICH ARE A SNAP FIT OVER THE UPPER EDGES OF SAID CRADLE. 